David Vitter leads Charlie Melancon in two new polls of Senate race

BATON ROUGE -- Two polls released this week show Republican David Vitter continuing to hold a substantial lead over Democrat Charlie Melancon in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race, with the rest of the 12-candidate field on the Nov. 2 ballot trailing far behind.

Although the Louisville, Colo.-based firm works mainly for Republicans, the poll was paid for by the firm and was not done at the behest of a candidate or interest group, according to its chief executive.

The second poll, paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has Vitter with a 10-point lead over Melancon, 48 percent to 38 percent,. When three minor candidates - Libertarian Randall Hayes and independents Ernest Wooton and Mike Spears - are included in the sample, Vitter's lead over Melancon falls to the single digits, 44 percent to 35 percent.

The Democratic poll of 800 likely voters was conducted by the Washington, D.C., firm of Bennett, Petts & Normington, which could not be reached for comment.

David Flaherty, Magellan's chief executive, said the results mean Melancon "has got a hill to climb, there's no question about that. He's dealing with a difficult environment."

But with six weeks left before election day, there is still time for the numbers to move, he said.